Vibratory bowl feeder

ABSTRACT

A vibratory bowl feeder for cylindrical objects is improved by having an upwardly inclined trough that is uninterrupted and has a generally uniform cross section approximately in the shape of a conic section, preferably that of a parabola or hyperbola. Cylinders that are at least nearly as long as their diameters are accurately jiggled into end-to-end alignment in such trough without any jamming, mis-alignment, or rejection, and a single size trough can accommodate many sizes of cylinders.

United States Patent Mead 1451 Mar. 21, 1972 [54] VIBRATORY BOWL FEEDER[72] Inventor: Dennis E. Mead, Cazenovia, N.Y.

[73] Assignee: Llpe-Rollway Corporation, Liverpool,

[22] Filed: Feb. 26, 1970 211 Appl. No.: 14,347

[52] U.S.CI. ..198/33 AA, 198/220 BA, 198/DIG, 12 [51] Int. Cl ..B65g47/24 [58] Field of Search ..l98/33.1, DIG. 12, 220 BA [56] ReferencesCited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,123,199 3/1964 Easterday et a1. "198/3313,063,543 11/1962 Schneider ...198/33.1 3,101,831 8/1963 Gaddini ..l..198/33.l

3,114,448 12/1963 Boris ..l98/33.1

EOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Great Britain ..198/33. 1 France PrimaryExaminer-Joseph Wegbreit Assistant ExaminerH. S. Lane Attorney-Cumpston,Shaw & Stephens 57 ABSTRACT A vibratory bowl feeder for cylindricalobjects is improved by having an upwardly inclined trough that isuninterrupted and has a generally uniform cross section approximatelyinthe shape of a conic section, preferably that of a parabola orhyperbola. Cylinders that are at least nearly as long as their diametersare accurately jiggled into end-to-end alignment in such trough withoutany jamming, mis-alignment, or rejection, and a single size trough canaccommodate many sizes of cylinders.

l 1 Claims, 1 1 Drawing Figures Patented March 21, 1972 2 Shets-Sheet l2 INS I w. 1%. K.

FIG-

INVENTOR. DENNIS E MEAD W5 v M ATTORNEYS Patented March 21, 19723,650,367

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 V IN TOR.

DEN E. MEAD BY M W ATTORNEYS VIBRATORY BOWL FEEDER THE INVENTIVEIMPROVEMENT Vibratory bowl feeders are generally known and ordinarilyuse a flat, helical, shelflike, inclined ramp winding upward from thebottom of the bowl to a discharge passageway. Obstructions, cutouts andother orienting devices are arranged along the shelf to topple off partsthat are improperly oriented and pass only those parts that are properlyoriented. Each different part of each sized object requires a changingor adjusting of the obstructions and orienting devices for differentparts and is time-consuming and expensive.

The invention involves the recognition of a different shaped pathway upfrom the bowl bottom for unerringly orienting cylindrical objects suchas roller bearings that are at least nearly as long as their diameters.The invention also aims at a more versatile vibratory bowl feedercapable of feeding a wide range of sizes and proportions of cylindricalobjects without any changes in the bowl structure. The invention seeksrapid and accurate feeding of cylindrical objects without any jamming ormisorientation and with minimum time and expense.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The inventive feeder uses a different shapedpathway leading from the bottom of the vibratory feeder bowl upward to adischarge passageway. The surface forming the pathway is configuredgenerally as an uninterrupted trough gradually shaped up from the bottomof the bowl, and having a generally uniform cross section above itslower end. The bottom of the trough surface is curved in cross sectionon a relatively small radius, and regions of the trough surface abovethe trough bottom are curved in cross section on increasingly largerradii with the top regions of the trough surface being curved toapproach plane surfaces.

DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a partially schematic, partially cutaway, perspectiveview of a preferred embodiment of the inventive feeder;

FIGS. 2 4 are enlarged, cross-sectional views of alternative shapes ofpathway troughs for the inventive feeder;

FIG. 5 is a partially schematic, perspective view of an alternativepreferred embodiment of the inventive feeder; and

FIGS. 6 '11 are fragmentary, perspective views of trough sectionsshowing orientation of cylindrical objects in the inventive feeder.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION As shown in FIG. I, vibratory bowl feeder 10 isvibrated by motor 11 in a generally-known way for feeding generallycylindrical objects 12. The bottom 13 of how] 10 is shaped to contain aquantity of generally cylindrical objects 12 in random orientation, anda pathway 14 inclines upward from bottom 13 for feeding objects 12. Theentryway 15 to pathway 14 converges with bowl bottom 13, and pathway 14is gradually shaped up radially outward of wall 16 as pathway 14 risesfrom bowl bottom 13. Wall 16 gradually rises to a sufficient height toestablish a cross-sectional shape for pathway 14 that is maintainedthroughout the rest of its helical path to discharge region 16. Also,the rise of the trough is steeper near the bottom of the bowl, andgradually decreases in steepness as it rises toward the top until thetrough becomes level at approximately one-half turn from the dischargeregion. From this point onward for the last half-turn the trough isslightly downhill toward the discharge region. The downward slope of thetrough tends to separate cylinders approaching the discharge region toprovide sufficient room for any reorienting of cylinders and to ensurethat any clumps or bunches of cylinders are settled into a single tilemovement toward the discharge region.

Pathway 14 need not be helical as indicated, and need not windapproximately I and one-quarter turns around bowl 10 as illustrated. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 5, pathway 48 can lead straight out of a bowlor hopper 43 containing cylindrical objects 12 in random orientation andvibrated by vibrator 44. Furthermore, pathway 14 can lead straight outof circular bowl 10 in a linear path, or can wind around bowl 10 afraction of a turn or several complete turns. Generally a helicalconfiguration is preferred for compactness, but under some circumstancesa linear path is better.

Bowl 10 can be in many sizes and formed of many materials and ispreferably a relatively simple casting as illustrated. Pathway 14 ispreferably uninterrupted and generally unencumbered with obstructions orcutouts, because its cross-sectional shape allows it to orientcylindrical objects unerringly and to accommodate many sizes ofcylinders.

At discharge region 16, bushing 17 is arranged to extend verticallydownward from pathway 14 to form a discharge passageway and orientationretainer for objects 12. Relatively short objects of approximately thesame axial length as their diameter will tip downward into bushing 17and drop vertically from bowl 10 to a discharge passageway for delivery.A guide 19 is arranged beyond discharge bushing 17 to divert any objectspassing over bushing 17. A side wall of pathway 14 is cut away atdischarge region 16 to form an escape opening 18 to allow objects 12 toescape sideways from pathway 14 if the discharge passageway is blocked.

An alternative guide 20 is shown in exploded orientation over guide 19to provide a substitute discharge passageway for objects that are longeraxially relative to their diameter. When guide 20 is secured in theplace of guide 19 on bowl 10, it disposes a horizontally orientedbushing 21 in alignment with pathway 14 for horizontal discharge ofobjects 12.

A vertical discharge bushing 45 is arranged just beyond the end of thelinear trough 48 of FIG. 4 for vertically discharging cylinders from theend of trough 48. An open space at the end of the trough 48 over bushing45 allows for overflow if bushing 45 is blocked. Alternatively,horizontal discharge bushing 46 is spaced from the end of trough 48 forhorizontal discharge of longer cylinders. Discharge bushings 45 and 46are preferably interchangeable and are not used together as illustrated.

The preferred, curved cross-sectional shape of pathway 14 is bestillustrated in FIGS. 2 4. The surface forming pathway 14 is generallycurved and trough-shaped, and as illustrated in FIG. 2, the bottom 22 ofpathway 14 is curved on a relatively small radius of curvature. As thesurface of pathway 14 rises above bottom 22 to side regions 23, theradius of curvature becomes increasingly larger, and the curvature ofthe top regions 24 of pathway 14 approaches plane surfaces 25represented by broken lines. As so constructed, the surface of pathway14 is approximately parabolic with plane surfaces 25 approximatelytangent to the trough at upper regions 24 having an acute angle betweenthem.

The cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 3 for pathway 14 is trulyparabolic with a bottom 26 curved on a relatively small radius, sides 27curving on increasingly larger radii and tops 28 curving to approachplane surfaces 29 that are vertical and parallel.

FIG. 4 shows an alternative trough in the general shape of a hyperbolawith a bottom 30 curved on a small radius and side regions 31 curved onincreasingly larger radii to approach perpendicular plane surfaces 33 attop regions 32. 1

The inventive curved cross-sectional trough shape acc0m modates manydiameters and lengths of cylinders without any change in bowl l0, and itaccepts and advances only properly oriented cylinders. This is bestillustrated in FIGS. 6 11. A cylinder 12 standing upright in trough 14as illustrated in FIG. 6 has only two-point contact with the troughsurface at 47 and 48 and has sufficient clearance under it so thatvibration quickly and easily topples it into proper orientation with thetrough. A cylinder 12 oriented crosswise of pathway 14 as shown in FIG.7 has only two points of contact with the curved surface of the troughat 49 and 50 and is quickly toppled or jiggled into proper orientation.A cylinder 12 obliquely transverse to trough 14, as illustrated in FIG.8, has three points of contact with the trough surface at 51, 52 and 53,but is unsta' ble and has sufficient clearance so that it too is quicklytoppled or jiggled into proper orientation.

Proper orientation of cylinders 12 in the inventive trough isillustrated in FIGS. 9 l1. Cylinder 12 in trough 14 as illustrated inFIG. 9, has linear contact with trough surface 14 along two lines 54 and55 on the surface of cylinder 12 parallel with its axis. Some clearanceexists between the bottom of trough 14 and cylinder 12 in FIG. 9, butcylinder 12 is stable in this orientation. A smaller diameter cylinder12 in trough 14 as illustrated in FIG. 10 has a stable contact with thetrough surface along a single line 56 on the surface of cylinder 12parallel with its axis. In curved trough 14 as illustrated in FIG. 11, aproperly oriented cylinder 12 has stable, three-point contact with thetrough surface at points 57, 58 and 59. The proper cylinder orientationsof FIGS. 9 11 are such that cylinders precede in end-to-end alignment tothe discharge region.

Persons wishing to practice the invention should remember that otherembodiments and variations can be adapted to particular circumstances.Even though one point of view is necessarily chosen in describing anddefining the invention this should not inhibit broader of relatedembodiments going beyond the semantic orientation of this applicationbut falling within the spirit of the invention. For example, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that the inventive trough shape canbe used in many circumstances for feeding a variety of generallycylindrical objects, and they will understand the adaptations necessaryto fit the inventive principles to different circumstances.

I claim: 7

1. In a vibratory feeder having a bowl for objects to be fed and meansfor vibrating said bowl, an improvement facilitating the feeding ofgenerally cylindrical objects having an axial length approximately thesame as their diameter, said improvement comprising:

a. a pathway beginning in the bottom region of said bowl and leading ina helix around the perimeter of said bowl to an upper region;

b. a discharge passageway in the region of the upper end of saidpathway;

c. the surface forming said pathway being configured generally as anuninterrupted trough continuously walled on each side and shaped up fromsaid bottom region of said bowl and having a generally uniform crosssection above said bottom region of said bowl;

d. the bottom of said trough surface being curved in said cross sectionon a relatively small radius;

e. regions of said trough surface above said trough bottom being curvedin said cross section on increasingly larger radii;

f. the top regions of said trough surface being curved to approach planesurfaces; and said trough surface is dimensioned relative to saidobjects so said objects have a stable, three point contact with saidtrough surface only when oriented in axial alignment with said trough,and said objects have an unstable contact with said trough surface inany orientation other than said axial alignment with said trough.

2. The feeder of claim 1 wherein said plane surfaces are disposed at anacute angle to each other.

3. The feeder of claim 1 wherein said plane surfaces are vertical andparallel.

4. The feeder of claim 1 wherein said plane surfaces are approximatelyperpendicular.

5. The feeder of claim 1 wherein said cross section of said troughsurface is approximately parabolic in shape.

6. The feeder of claim 1 wherein said cross section of said troughsurface is approximately hyperbolic in shape.

7. The feeder of claim 1 wherein said cross section of said troughsurface is approximately a conic section in said bottom region and isapproximately straight in said top regions.

8. The feeder of claim 1 wherein one side wall of said trough is cut awaat said upper end of said pathway.

9. The eeder of claim 1 wherein said discharge passageway comprises ahorizontally oriented bushing aligned with said pathway.

10. The feeder of claim 1 wherein said discharge assageway comprises avertically oriented bushing communicating with said pathway.

11. The feeder of claim 10 including a diverting guide across saidpathway beyond said bushing.

1. In a vibratory feeder having a bowl for objects to be fed and meansfor vibrating said bowl, an improvement facilitating the feeding ofgenerally cylindrical objects having an axial length approximately thesame as their diameter, said improvement comprising: a. a pathwaybeginning in the bottom region of said bowl and leading in a helixaround the perimeter of said bowl to an upper region; b. a dischargepassageway in the region of the upper end of said pathway; c. thesurface forming said pathway being configured generally as anuninterrupted trough continuously walled on each side and shaped up fromsaid bottom region of said bowl and having a generally uniform crosssection above said bottom region of said bowl; d. the bottom of saidtrough surface being curved in said cross section on a relatively smallradius; e. regions of said trough surface above said trough bottom beingcurved in said cross section on increasingly larger radii; f. the topregions of said trough surface being curved to approach plane surfaces;and g. said trough surface iS dimensioned relative to said objects sosaid objects have a stable, three point contact with said trough surfaceonly when oriented in axial alignment with said trough, and said objectshave an unstable contact with said trough surface in any orientationother than said axial alignment with said trough.
 2. The feeder of claim1 wherein said plane surfaces are disposed at an acute angle to eachother.
 3. The feeder of claim 1 wherein said plane surfaces are verticaland parallel.
 4. The feeder of claim 1 wherein said plane surfaces areapproximately perpendicular.
 5. The feeder of claim 1 wherein said crosssection of said trough surface is approximately parabolic in shape. 6.The feeder of claim 1 wherein said cross section of said trough surfaceis approximately hyperbolic in shape.
 7. The feeder of claim 1 whereinsaid cross section of said trough surface is approximately a conicsection in said bottom region and is approximately straight in said topregions.
 8. The feeder of claim 1 wherein one side wall of said troughis cut away at said upper end of said pathway.
 9. The feeder of claim 1wherein said discharge passageway comprises a horizontally orientedbushing aligned with said pathway.
 10. The feeder of claim 1 whereinsaid discharge passageway comprises a vertically oriented bushingcommunicating with said pathway.
 11. The feeder of claim 10 including adiverting guide across said pathway beyond said bushing.